Banks hit back the same day: the ABA says the first final GENIUS Act rule, from the OCC, leaves crypto platforms free to keep paying stablecoin rewards

The fight over stablecoin rewards did not end with the first finished rulebook. On Wednesday, the same day the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency issued its final GENIUS Act rule, the American Bankers Association said the agency had left a gap. "The result is a final rule that will preserve the status quo for crypto platforms," ABA chief executive Rob Nichols said, per the ABA Banking Journal.

The OCC kept the law's ban on issuers paying interest but dropped a proposed presumption that certain deals between issuers and affiliates or third parties broke it. Nichols said the gaps risk undermining the distinction Congress drew between payment stablecoins and bank deposits, and that dealing with deposit flight after it happens is the wrong approach, per The Block. The Blockchain Association said the change brings the rule more in line with the statute, while its chief policy officer, Lindsay Fraser, praised the rule's clear standards for reserves, redemption and risk management, The Block reported.

The OCC said it declines to presume that rewards programs that predated the Act comply with it, and will look at arrangements case by case, CoinDesk reported. Offers in the market include PayPal's 4% on PYUSD and Coinbase One's 3.75% on USDC, per CoinDesk. TD Cowen's Washington Research Group, led by managing director Jaret Seiberg, viewed the rule as a negative for banks in a note, The Block reported.

What comes next: the rule takes effect on January 18, 2027. The OCC said it expects to propose further rules clarifying the yield ban once it gains more experience identifying prohibited transactions, per the ABA Banking Journal, and TD Cowen expects ambiguity until courts rule.